Canadian soldiers suspended after Nazi salute video surfaces

The Canadian military has suspended five active members after a video emerged allegedly showing them with other individuals who gave Nazi salutes.

Lt.-Gen. Mike Wright, the head of the Canadian army, said in a statement issued Tuesday that he was “deeply disturbed and profoundly disappointed” by the contents of the video, which he said he was made aware of on Aug. 6.

Wright said soon after the video was shared with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) by a member of the public, five serving members were identified, who have now been suspended from military duties while a disciplinary investigation is underway. The matter was then referred to military police.

According to the army commander, one individual can be seen performing a drill in front of the flag of the Royal 22e Regiment, which is based in Quebec City, “and then consuming a substance.”

“At one point in the video, other individuals perform the Nazi salute,” Wright said of the video, which is said to have been filmed in 2023.

The CAF said the five active members are part of the 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (5 CMBG), based at 2 Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier in Quebec City.

Wright said the behaviour depicted in the video “is completely unacceptable, and swift action will be taken,” which could result in dismissal, pending the investigation.

“Hateful conduct and extremism have no place in the Canadian Army. It hurts our ability to recruit the best of Canada, to maintain credibility to deliver on operations, and it erodes public trust in our institution,” the commander added.

“Canadian Army members who jeopardize that trust and participate in hateful conduct will face the consequences of their actions.’’

Men with military ties arrested in July for ‘violent extremism’

The video is the second incident in recent weeks involving alleged extremism and the Canadian military. In July, the RCMP charged four people with ties to the military who allegedly intended to forcibly take over land in the Quebec City area in a case of what the police described as “ideologically motivated violent extremism.”

Two of the accused are active members — Marc-Aurèle Chabot, 24, and Matthew Forbes, 33, of Pont-Rouge, Que. —who are based out of CFB Valcartier.

The other two are Raphaël Lagacé, 25, of Quebec City and Simon Angers-Audet, 24, of Neuville. One of them is a former CAF member and a former civilian instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, according to a statement from Brigadier-General Vanessa Hanrahan. The CAF did not specify who held which role.

Three of the accused were allegedly planning “to create [an] anti-government militia” and used social media to recruit other members to their cause, according to the RCMP.